Soap Dish from bottom of 2 liter bottle

I was inspired by a post at Alessia's Scrap Craft to create my own version of the bottom of 2 liter plastic bottle into a soap dish, although I made mine taller.  Not only does it cost almost nothing to make, it keeps the soap from getting soggy and gross on the bottom.

Items used:

• 2 litter plastic bottle
• Kitchen shears, Xacto Knife, box cutter or some other method to cut the bottle
• Rhinestones 
• E6000 or other strong clear glue

1. Decide how tall you want your soap dish to be.  I used a line that was already on the bottle below the label for a guide.
2. Cut the bottom off of the bottle (I used kitchen shears as I found I have better control over keeping the even, to start the cut, pinch the plastic slightly, cut, then insert one of the blades inside the bottle).
3. Glue rhinestones around the edge - I alternated blue and clear about and put them the length of 2nd bend in my index finger as a rough guide, but you could glue them wherever you wanted.

Happy crafting!

Linking up to:
30 Days of Creativity

Bows 'N Tulle 20 Minute T-Shirt Refashion

 

I wanted to fancy up a t-shirt with a somewhat vintage feel and created this for $2 using only a pair of scissors - no sewing required!  (1st picture is bow tied onel second picture is bow tied twice).

Items used:

• T-shirt
• Roll of 6 inch wide tulle (Purchased at Dollar Tree $1 - found in the bridal section)
• Scissors
• Seam gauge or ruler
• 1 piece scrap paper
• Pencil or marking chalk
• Safety pin

At the neckline, measure and mark 1/2 inch below the binding and cut.








Using a piece of paper I folded a long triangle with the base being and inch and 1/2 wide and cut it out.  Place up against the bound end of the sleeve with the narrowest part at the top and the widest at the bottom and mark.






At the neckline, measure 3/4 of an inch down and mark all the way around.  Mark the center front and back on the shirt.  One inch from each mark will be where you want to start your 2 inch markings.

 From the 3/4 inch mark, measure two inches down and mark all the way around at two inch intervals.

On the sleeves, starting at the top of the sleeve, also measure 3/4 inch from the edge and mark, then measure two below that mark and mark on the sleeve at two inch intervals.

Make cuts where marked.  I found it easiest to fold the fabric in half on the line marked and begin the cut.  Repeats all the way around the neckline and on the sleeves.

For the neckline, I cut a piece approximately 2 1/2 yards of tulle and folded the bottom up 2 inches and the top down two inches and folded the end over and secured with a safety pin to make it easier to thread through the neckline.

Start threading two cuts below the right hand side on the t-shirt weaving in and out all the way around then tie into a bow.   Trim bow to the length you want.

On the sleeve,  start one cut down from the top and thread all the way around, tie a bow and cut ends to the length you want, repeat on the other sleeve.






This is for Day 22 for 30 Days of Creativity

Girls Fireflies Dress from a T-Shirt

I always liked fireflies and decided to use up some of my glow-in-the-dark fabric paint to create a fireflies themed dress (girls size 2-3) using a green t-shirt.
Items used:

• Free pattern and instructions from Dana from "Made"
• T-Shirt (I used a women's large)
• Printer and paper
• Glow-In-The-Dark fabric paint
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine and matching thread 
• Straight pins
• Saftey Pin (for turning the tie inside out)

The "fireflies" were made making a somewhat bottom heavy cross shape in a diagonal pattern on the front and back of the dress before stitching together.





 I adapted the "Warhol Dress" by Dana from "Made" and added 2 1/2 inches to the top of the pattern and folded under 1/2 inch, pressed then stitched down, then 1 1/4 inch, pressed then stitched down 1/4 inch from the edge at the bottom on each side. 






I then stitched the ties together inside out leaving the ends open and used a safety pin to turn right side out the pressed with an iron.
 I then  threaded the ties through to make it more adjustable as I am going to be sending it to Dress A Girl Around the World.



Linking up to:

Bicycle Dress from T-Shirt

 This size 3-4 girls dress was made using a free pattern and instructions by Dana from "Made" using a large t-shirt.  The only variations that I made is instead of freezer paper stenciling a banana for the "Warhol" dress, I used free clip art from The Graphics Fairy of a Vintage Bicycle and added a ruffle at the bottom using a decorative stitch.

Items used:

• Free pattern and instructions from Dana from "Made"
• The Graphics Fairy of a Vintage Bicycle
• T-Shirt (I used a women's large)
• 2 pieces of fabric 2 1/2 inches by 26 inch fabric for bow
• 1 piece of fabric 2 inches by 36 inches for ruffle
• Printer and paper
• Black fabric paint
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine and matching thread 
• Straight pins 

I followed the instructions up to cutting out and stitching armholes and gather stitching, but before stitching together I printed off a half-page image of the bike then played around with where I wanted to position it on the dress.

 Using the black fabric paint I went over all of the black lines with black paint the positioned it on the t-shirt with the paint side down and lightly patted it down to transfer the image (Note:  it will be a mirror image to whatever image you are transferring, so it won't work with lettering).




For the remainder of the dress, I followed the instructions.

I also added a two inch ruffle (approximately 1 yd wide) at the bottom, using an iron to press up a 1/2 inch hem then stitching down and using a gather stitch at the top.  I then sewed the ends together, pinned underneath the shirt at the hem then applied the decorative stitch to finish.

Linking up to:

"Friends" Themed Paper Organizer

This is for Day 7 of 30 Days of Creativity with the theme of "Friends".  I chose to make a file organizer (but could also be used as a magazine holder) for my son's college papers out of a cereal box and cover it will a collage of pictures of him and his friends.

Items used:

• Cereal box (I used Captain Crunch)
• Scissors
• 8-12 photos
• Glue stick
• Clear Contact paper

Cut the top off of the box and cut at an angle on each side and straight across the front.

Pick out the photos you want to use and arrange them on the box then glue down.

Apply clear Contact paper (I purchased mine at Dollar Tree for $1) over the photos.

Jeans to Tote Bag

 This is for  30 Days of Creativity and the theme for Day 4 is Trousers, so I decided to turn a pair of jeans into a girly tote bag.   I used tulle as an accent through the belt loops but any fabric or even a belt could be used.

Items used:

• Jeans or pants with belt loops
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine and thread
• Rope 
• Tulle (off of a roll from the Dollar Store - approx. 12 inches wide  & 3 yds)

Cut pants off straight across above the crotch.

Zigzag around all edges to prevent fraying.

Turn inside out and pin together at the bottom and stitch 5/8 inch away from the edge.  Trim corners and turn right side out.

For the handle, I cut 2 pieces of rope a little over a yard long each and sewed to the pants 3 inches away from each edged on each side.  If the rope you use is polyester, you can seal the edge using a lighter or candle before applying to the jeans.


Cut the tulle at a diagonal on the edges, thread through the loops and tie in a bow.



Linking up to:

Black Flower Tote Bag

This tote bag is an existing bag decorated with black flowers made out of scraps and black glitter fabric paint for accents.

•  Tote bag
• Scissors
• Paper and Sharpie Pen
• Scraps of fabric for flowers
• Scraps of sturdier fabric for base
• Glue gun and hot glue
• Needle and thread (optional)
• Glittery Fabric Paint
• Acrylic Paint to match bag  
• Sponge paintbrush

I used all black scraps from t-shirts and other sewing projects (I used black, but any colors could be used) for the flowers and felt, denim and other sturdy fabrics for the base.

The flowers are the same concept as Twisted and Stoned Flowers except instead of stone in the center, you tie a few knots in the end of the fabric.

For the base, use a soda can or other circular object (I used a soda can and a lid of of a milk jug) to draw a circle on a piece or paper.  Cut out and use a template. Place circle on felt, denim or other sturdy fabric draw around it with a pen or Sharpie then cut out.














Cut fabric for flowers into strips that are approximately 1 inch wide.  Instead of using a stone for the center,  tie a few knots in the end of fabric for the center and the glue down

Use glue gun to glue down fabric and start twisting.  Dab a bit of glue on top of the fabric and glue down the stone.  Twists fabric, dab glue, push down and repeat all the was around the flower, twisting as you go until you reach the out edge.  Repeat until you have enough to cover the bag (I used around 50).

If you start with a plain bag, you can skip this step.

As there was writing on the bag, I used black acrylic paint and sponge paintbrush to cover the writing.  It took about 3 coats. 

Arrange the flowers on the bag, then glue down with the hot glue gun.  I also hand stitched around them to secure them to the bag, but that might not be necessary.

To accentuate the flowers (and cover up any hot glue splotches) with glitter fabric paint if desired.









Happy crafting!

DIY Monster Hoodie in 30 minutes

This is based on this tutorial at Cut Out and Keep by Cuppy Cake Girl  decorating a hoodie using 3 different colors of felt.

See Monster Hoodie! Roar! and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep
Instead of using felt,  I used outdated or damaged clothing I had on hand.  The "teeth" are made from an old pair of white polyester shorts s, the "iris" of the eye from a silk dress and the "pupil" was off of a pair of parachute pants. 

I also changed the eye to look more reptilian and placed farther apart so I could make it look like a "normal" hoodie with the hood down and I could tuck the "teeth" inside.

I sewed mine and from cut to finish took a little under half hour, but it could be possible to make using a craft glue that works on fabrics and it might take even less time.


Item I used:
-  1 old hoodie
-   Paper and pen
-  3 different colors of felt or fabric
-  Straight Pins
-  Sewing Machine and Thread
-  Sewing Needle
-   Heat N Bond
-   Iron

For my teeth, I drew I folded a piece of paper and cut at an angle to make a triangle on paper 41/2 inches wide and 4 1/4 tall, but if you have drawstring hoodie you might want to make it longer.   I then pinned to the shorts and cut out each one then flipped the pattern upside down next to it (as illustrated in blue in the picture below) and repeated until I had a total of 8 teeth.

For the eye, I folded a piece of paper into quarters and cut off the edges to make somewhat of a semi-circle that was 4 1/2 inches wide and 2 3/4 inches tall

Here is the "eye" unfolded.  I made the "pupil" by folding paper into quarters then cutting a triangle that was wider at the bottom and sharper curve inward toward the top that was 1 1/8 inches wide and 4 1/4 inches tall (pictured on top of the "iris".

I drew the eye and pupil on top of the Heat N Bond and cut out then ironed on to the back for the fabric for the "eye" and "iris"

On the "pupil", peel off the backing, position where you want on the eye and iron on.

Peel the backing off of the "iris", position it on the hood.(you might pin then try on and check first).  Once it looks the way you want on the hoodie, iron it to the hoodie.

To keep the fabric from fraying and secure it to the hoodie,  I zigzagged around the edge of both the "pupil" and "iris" using a sewing machine.

For the "teeth", I had to position the edges behind the string in the hoodie (about an 1 5/8 inches from the edge), pinning four "teeth" on each side, overlapping slightly and stitch into place around 1 1/2 inches from the edge.

I also hand basted the "teeth" along the edge of the hoodie to help keep them in place.




 You now have monster hoodie to wear:)

Be sure to check out the other participants in the blog hop for May Monster Madness!

Show your monster spirit

1.	Annie Walls	15.	Horror Author Vanessa Morgan	29.	blackdragon
2.	Little Gothic Horrors	16.	Cayce @ Fighting Dreamer	30.	Jurassic Goth
3.	Pensive Pumpkin	17.	It Came From The Man Cave	31.	Monsterfink's Midnight Monster Spookshow
4.	Queens of the Wild Frontier	18.	It's On Random	32.	Residentgamer
5.	Lady Bethezda	19.	Not This Time, Nayland Smith	33.	nitebyrd
6.	Le Professeur Gothique	20.	Artwork By Living Dead Girl Nicole	34.	Everything You Want
7.	wicKED	21.	Metamorphosis	35.	Kweeny Todd
8.	Shingle Creek Manor	22.	Crafts and Creations with KMOM14	36.	Ghost Stories and Haunted Places
9.	Daph's Dark Little Corner	23.	skarlett	37.	Jess @ Wickedly Bookish
10.	Jenny Krueger	24.	Dani Harper, Paranormal Author	38.	GingerRead
11.	Holly's Horrorland	25.	Manvshorror	39.	Lynoire
12.	blackwood	26.	Horror Shock Lolipop	40.	HorrorSmorgasbord
13.	Punk You	27.	Bob @ Beauty in Ruins	41.	The Purple Broom
14.	Kharisma Rhayne	28.	Precious Monsters

(Collection closed)

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LARGE DRAGON EGG

Welcome to the first day of Monster Madness Blog Hop running from May 1 - 7th.  Check out the other participants at the link at the bottom.
My first project is a dragon egg that you can make out of an empty 2 liter bottle. 

-  1 empty 2 liter plastic bottle, rinsed and label removed
-  Scissors, Xacto knife, hot blade or box cutter & Sharpie
-  Duct Tape
- Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks
-  Spray Paint (black) and Glitter Glue (gold)

I used this to hold a small present for my son for Easter - it does make a unique package!  He uses it to hold miscellaneous items. 

The first step in making it is to measure up 4 inches from the bottom of the bottle and mark using a Sharpie.  Cut the top off the top of the bottle (I used a hot knife) then measure 3 1/2 inches down and mark with a Sharpie.  Cut along the lines (I used a pair of scissors as it allows better control).  It will look like the pieces below when you are done.

Cut a small square of duct tape, enough to cover the opening on the top.

Put the top inside the bottle and an angle and wiggling it until it fits snuggly, the use the hot glue gun to give it texture.  On the very top I put swirls on the tap and down about and inch then made oval shapes all the way around and added other squiggles in the middle, but don't cross over to the bottom of the bottle.   On the bottom I mostly did different squiggles; on this too, don't cross over to the top of the bottle.

I used a few coats of black spray paint on the outside, allowing it to dry between coats, but you could use any color that strikes your fancy.

After completely dried, I also then used glitter glue on mostly on the "veins" created by the hot glue gun  to give it sparkley, mystical look, but it you could omit it if you wanted a different look.